Black Knight
by ronko45
Summary: Hei is transported to another dimension and its up to him to help save the Kingdom.  Some bad language-one or two or three words.  I think the genre is correct...
1. Chapter 1

I got this idea from a movie I heard (heard because I wasn't watching it, it was just on) and I thought yeah, I should make a story! Though it really doesn't follow the movie like that, mostly the plot of him being in another dimension I would say. The movie was Black Knight btw. A words of heads up though, for some reason I feel the characters are a bit out of character, but hey, I still think its good. Anyways, read on my readers, read on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Black Knight

-X-

Hei jumped back as the boulder flew towards him. The giant rock crashed into the abandoned building beside him. The already weak foundation crumbled behind the blow, showering to the ground with its dust quickly. The contractor laughed as he took out his sword and swung voraciously at Hei; all he could do was dodge. The contractor led Hei onto the pile of rubble that had only moments before tumbled to Earth, and as Hei jumped away, right after he had pulled his own blade out of its holster to defend, he slipped on a loose brick. His blade landed away from him and he had no way of going for it. Hei's foe smiled maliciously as he advanced toward Hei, his body glowing blue as he touched the downed Black Reaper.

The sun rose up into the sky, its rays shining onto the village that lay just below the mountains. The roosters had already started their daily ritual, letting the villagers know that the day's start was upon them. One by one the villagers woke up. The men and their sons, all still tired from yesterday's hardship, opened the tool sheds and got to their specialized tasks. The women too got up, some going to the barn to collect fresh eggs and milk for the day and others going to the market for extra ingredients.

Mrs. Jo was on her way to the market. She had always taken the road less traveled since it allowed her the best of the first pickings. The old lady looked at the scenery around her as she walked, watching the squirrels running around the ground and climbing trees, and the trees blowing in the wind, when she spotted something peculiar. Being the meddlesome person she was, she immediately went to check it out. She walked over to the object, seeing first the black boot of the figure. The lady gasped and hurried over to the man, checking to see if he was okay. Based on the fact that his skin was still warm, and his pulse was still detectable, though just barely, she determined he was still alive. Mrs. Jo took the man back to her house, dragging him on the grassy trail.

The smell of burning wax hit Hei hard after he woke up inside of the dim room. Beside him the candle was burning to its max, trying with all its might to light the dark room. Hei took it upon himself to stand, but he found it hard to do so; his body was aching everywhere. As he finally got both his feet onto the floor, Mrs. Jo walked in, and the bed-sheet that had been covering him fell off. The old lady smiled.

"Boy, you need to sit down, relax." Hei grabbed the bed-sheet as Mrs. Jo walked over to him—her eyes just couldn't stay with his. "Come now, this'll help you." The cup was placed onto a small table.

"What am I doing here," asked Hei not touching the tea.

"I saw you passed out and took care of you. You were almost out… had I not found you, you probably would've died." Her smile was genuine, as far as Hei could tell, so he sat back on the bed and took the cup to his mouth. "I must say though, I think I put most of those wounds on you myself… you are way too heavy for a little woman such as myself to carry all alone." Hei said nothing to that. The atmosphere around here felt different…

"Where am I?" He had no recollection of what had occurred before the moment here, and he was pretty sure something was going on.

The woman's face went grave and she turned around from Hei. She seemed almost a different person. "You don't need to know. The less you know the better, now I want you to get out of here."

"What do you mean?"

"I told you, just don't stay here. It's too complicated." Hei stood up, feeling better from the remedy. He put on his clothes and walked out of the room.

"I wasn't planning on staying."

Hei walked out of the house. En route to the door, he noticed that the woman lived alone. She was poor; that much he could tell, but she was one of those people who enjoy life regardless. Mrs. Jo opened the door for Hei to walk out and he had made it out into the yard. No one was outside; it was dark and quiet.

"Now get going before…" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, a mass of soldiers had surrounded her and Hei. Hei instinctively went for his blade but it wasn't there. He silently cursed before he went to his backup plan, his electricity. Hei heard the soldiers talking to him, telling him to surrender, but he jumped to the first two, and electrocuted them. They gasped, but neither of them stepped back.

The king stood at the doorway, watching as his workers polished the silver and the gold they stored in the room. "Dad," said a voice behind him. He turned to see his daughter.

"What is it?"

"Is it true that the soldiers were sent out?"

"Yes, I believe there was suspicion of an outsider being housed with one of the villagers… you know that's a serious offense."

"Yes dad but you know they are dangerous, and the villagers are weary of them."

"That's not my problem. They should fear those with higher power." And that he believed to be the truth, if there was no fear then there'd be no order.

"Well if you're not going to do anything about it, then I will." The king watched as his daughter went down the stairs. He knew she was a leader, but the sympathy she felt for those below her was going to be her downfall. He wouldn't, no matter how much she wanted it, give her the throne if she continued like this. If anything, he would have to find the man to take over the throne, and make sure that that person and his daughter marry. That'd be the only way for him to leave the throne without a fight.

"Take him by force, as well as the woman." Mrs. Jo was shocked. Who had already found out that she had taken an outsider? She was careful, she was sure of that. She looked beside her and saw in the window, an old man, who she had caught with her eye before the curtains closed. She ran to her door and slammed it on the two oncoming soldiers. It had no affect because with their swords they slashed and kicked the door down. Mrs. Jo was pulled out of her abode, onto the sandy yard, where she was about to be handcuffed. Hei moved to her, placing his hands near her neck as if his hand was a sword. By now the other villagers had seen what had happened, most of them standing outside of their doors, or peeking out of windows.

"I'm not going to let you get in trouble for me," Hei whispered before walking with her to the soldiers. "I will kill her if you don't move."

"Do with her what you will, she betrayed the king the moment she took you in." said the soldier who had given the order before.

"Took me in? I forced her to take me. I would've killed her if she didn't accept." Hei watched the men's gestures; it would seem they were becoming skeptical.

"If you want, go ahead… because if it were up to me, all of them would be dead by now. Even better, I'll do it for you…" Hei stepped back as the soldier slowly walked up to him. These soldiers had nothing better to do but to slaughter innocent villagers. He took one more step back, Mrs. Jo whispering to him to let her go, so he can escape, but he wouldn't have that.

"Look," shouted a bystander, "something's coming." Over yonder, and coming up fast was what the villagers and soldiers knew as the Royal Carriage.

"Damn it," said the soldier before he took a step back. The horses neighed loudly as the chariot rider stopped them. The princess jumped out of the carriage and walked over to the mass surrounding the old woman's house.

"What is going on here?" She walked up to the soldiers, looking at each of their faces, but stopped on the outsider. He had dark eyes, eyes that enraptured her, and dark hair, and his clothes were odd compared to theirs. She shook herself of his enchantment, and looked at the one who had caused this trouble.

"Princess Misaki, I'm sorry that you had to come all the way out here…"

"Shut up Keigo, I know you're not sorry at all." Keigo gritted his teeth as he went back in line with the other soldiers. "Now, you sir," she said to Hei, "you need to come with us. Being that our kingdom is in this area, and you are in fact an outsider, we need to go through the necessary precautions." Hei stared at the princess and then looked back at Mrs. Jo. He let her go, gently putting her to the floor. She thanked the princess and with one silent look at Hei, she walked back into her house. "I'm glad that you agree. Put the cuffs on him."

"Princess, you can't possibly go alone with this man, he has powers, like us!" whispered a soldier.

"What? How is that possible? I thought dad found all of you guys?"

"Princess…"

"I'll take extra precautions. Now you guys get back to your barracks. I don't want to hear anything more about you scaring the villagers okay?"

Before she allowed the rider to go, she waited for the soldiers to disperse. Soon later, she was riding in the back with the outsider. He was looking out of the window, seemingly deep in thought. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and waited until they reached the castle.

King Naoyasu Kirihara threw his plate down onto the floor, news of his daughter's ludicrous actions once again making him angry. "Wait your highness, I received another bit of information that you'll find most useful." Naoyasu looked at the advisor. "It seems that he is just like our soldiers…"

"You mean…"

"Yes."

"But how? If they didn't join me they were killed, so how could he hide this long?"

"However way he did it, he did, but now Princess Misaki has decided to see what she could do with him."

"What do you mean? She's in there with a contractor, and you tell me now?"

"I'm sorry your highness. I'll be sure to make sure it doesn't happen again." The advisor bowed as the king left for Misaki.

"Okay now, how did you get here? I know that Mrs. Jo wouldn't do anything to hurt a fly, but nice enough to go against the law… maybe."

"Then why did you let her go if you knew?"

"Why in the world would I punish someone for looking out for someone? My dad does not understand but I do. Back to you now, do you really have those powers?" Hei looked at the princess and then at his hands; they were still cuffed.

"I do. But don't think that I'll become your foot soldier. I have things I need to do, and I can't do them here."

King Naoyasu ran up to his daughter's room, fearing for her safety. "What kind of things," Misaki asked when he entered. The scene was not at all anything that he thought it'd be; Hei was under the windowsill, leaning on the wall, talking to Misaki who was on her bed looking at him. "Hey dad…" she spoke as he hurried over to her.

"What are you doing with that outsider in your room?" Hei looked at the king, and his first impression of him was that he was one of those who had no idea what was going on. He looked confused, but the eyes of his advisor spoke volumes.

"Misaki, you know very well you need to send him to the dungeon, or to the soldiers to deal with him." The king turned to his advisor and issued for the foreigner to be taken away.

Hei stood up as they advanced toward him and broke his cuffs. "You could've broken out at any time?" She smiled at him, never leaving his eyes. "You are quite mysterious… who are you?" She ran to the window after him, but by the time she reached it, he was no longer able to be seen.

"Misaki, are you okay?" asked her dad. She nodded. "We'll see him again. If it takes these soldiers all week to find him we will." He was definitely one she wanted to see again.

-X-

A/N: Hello people. I really don't have anything to say here, so just keep on to the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Black Knight Chapter 2

I still own nothing!

-X-

Hei crept through the silence of the night. The soldiers had gone, and the lights on most of the huts were out, yet a few remained on. Mrs. Jo's light was off, but that didn't stop Hei from entering the house. The woman was on the bed that Hei was on before. She turned to look at him and her smile just couldn't contain her happiness.

"You're alive!" She ran to hug him, and he let her. "I'm so glad, I thought that you'd be dead. How'd you escape?"

"The princess."

"The princess; she's the sweetest thing I've seen in all my years of living here. If she didn't come when she did… speaking of which why did you come back here?"

"No reason."

"You missed me didn't you?" Jo looked at Hei, the smirk on her face turning serious. "you shouldn't have come. You saw what they almost did to you."

"What was that about? I have a feeling you're not telling me something." Mrs. Jo turned around and took a seat.

"Remember before you left earlier today, I wouldn't tell you where you were?" Hei nodded. "The king here is a bad king. Not once has he ever come here to check on his people. He's lazy and inconsiderate… if it weren't for his daughter all would be lost on us, our hope and what not."

"Then I guess I have a new mission."

"What kind of mission is that?" asked the old lady. Hei looked at her but said nothing, causing her to smile as well.

"I can't tell you the details."

"Well whatever it is, I'm up for it. I hope it has something to do with the king!" Hei gave a small smile that revealed nothing, "I've wanted to get back at this king for the longest, and I think you are the one to do it. But first, we need to get you into the village legally… and I think I have just the way."

The next day Hei snuck out of Mrs. Jo's house and went around to the front of the gate. There were guards posted at the front and when Hei came up, they stopped him.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"My name is Li," he said timidly. Hei's hair had changed from jet black to brown with just a bit of blonde highlight in them. His black bulletproof trench coat was now replaced with a simple white shirt left open, stained with black soot in various spots, and finally long blue jeans. "I heard there was work here."

"Hey Quentin," we have a new worker, and he seems strong." The soldier that had walked Hei over to the king's advisor pushed Hei to him. "Find him a job will ya."

"Okay, so what are you good at? Any particular skills?"

"I don't really think I can do anything that well." Hei watched Quentin's face. He was trying to figure out if what Hei said was in fact true. Princess Misaki had walked into the hall, going for the other side of the room. She said her hello's as usual to every individual she passed, until she reached Hei. The way Misaki was looking at Hei made him think she had recognized him, and that she was going to blow his cover, but he played it off with a shy smile, and she walked away looking disappointed. "How are you at fighting?"

"I don't like to fight sir…"

"Good, that's exactly what we need."

Hei scowled as the men ushered him to the princess's room. He hadn't wanted to be this close to her, but he would make it work. Princess Misaki was sitting in front of her bookshelf, myriad of books about her desk, when they entered. "What can I do for you guys?" She looked up at Quentin.

"I'm terribly sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your father wanted you to have an escort, so that he may know before hand exactly what crazy things you plan to do so that he may adjust accordingly." Misaki stared at the advisor, but smiled looking away.

"Well, then if he thinks that'll stop anything, then he has another thing coming. Which one of you is my escort?"

"He is," said Quentin, "and starting today, he will be living with the soldiers."

"What? I have never seen this man before in my life. What makes you think you can trust him?"

"This is exactly why we are having him live in the barracks, and as for you," he said to Hei, "you seem like the type to run before conflicts ensue." Misaki stared at Hei, looking at the six-pack that was open to the public.

"Does that look like someone who hates to fight?"

"I thought about that myself, but are there not strong fellas in the village as well? Do they not choose to avoid confrontation, but only use their strength in order to defend?"

"Well that's true…"

"Okay then, with that settled, Li, this is Princess Misaki, and Princess, this is Li, officially your new escort."

Hei followed after one of the soldiers that was told to show him around. The king's palace was really grandiose, with magnificent chandeliers hanging from the highly adorned ceilings. Hei wondered how a kingdom with so much extra cash in its arsenal had such poor people.

The soldier's tour ended at the barracks, Hei's temporary place of residence. Hei walked to the end of the row. There was an empty bed he assumed was for him courtesy of the soldier guide before. Hei hadn't sat down for a second when Keigo walked up to him. "Who do we have here?"

"My name… is… is Li." Hei spoke, stuttering for emphasis. Keigo looked at Hei with an anger that was unrivaled. Before he knew it, there was a fist coming into his face. He couldn't dodge it, but he didn't show that it hurt. Righting himself in front of the other man, he stood at attention.

"You reminded me of someone… and that's a dangerous thing."

The barracks were filled with the both the sounds of light and heavy snoring when Hei awoke. He wanted to let Jo know that he was alright. He snuck out of the small window in the bathroom. The barracks were located behind the palace, but in order to get to Mrs. Jo's, he had to get to the front. He snuck through the bushes, reaching the side of the palace when, looking up, he saw something either climbing up to the princess's room, or coming out. Hei went to investigate.

Princess Misaki had wanted to go to the village for a while now, but she had never found any time to go there. Every morning she'd have studies, or some problem to deal with… something kept her from seeing her people and she didn't like that. Tonight she had decided that she would see them, see if she could help them with anything.

Misaki walked over to her window, after changing into slightly less looking expensive clothes, and brought down a rope of sheets. These sheets had been hiding here since she was young, since her mother, the queen, had died. She climbed over the window and started climbing down the rope.

The rope hit the bushes like always, and when the princess jumped down, she was surprised to see none other than her own personal escort at the bottom. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't have to tell you? You just follow me around, but that's it." Misaki started walking, and since she was going his direction, Hei followed too. "Why are you out here anyways? I thought you'd be asleep?"

"No, I wanted to get some fresh air. Staying in a small bunker with twenty men can do that to you you know." Misaki laughed. "Now where may I ask, are you going? I want to at least know in case you're not back by the morning."

"I'm going to see if I can help any of the villagers out… they've suffered worse since…" Misaki looked back at Hei after stopping herself from saying anything further. "I'm sorry, but," she looked at him. They were standing at the edge of the palace's stables, a small lantern's light surrounding them. "you look familiar… like someone I've met before."

"No, my mom sent me here for work, but that's it. I just got here yesterday…"

"Really? That's around the time I first met that one man too," she said mostly to herself. "But no matter, if you're going to the village as well, I guess I should get you there."

Princess Misaki walked into the stable and went over to a medium sized horse. It was a black horse, with a white mane and tail. It nuzzled the woman after she gave him an apple from a barrel. "This here is Gohan, named so because he loves eating his dinner. He's my way to the village." The horse was led outside and there Misaki mounted it. She held her hand out to her escort. "You might as well ride with me."

Hei grabbed her hand and mounted the steed. Gohan rode gracefully in Misaki's hands, as if he was comfortable with her handling him. They walked to the gate. "This is where this gets fun; hang on!" yelled Misaki.

Hei wrapped his arms around the woman's waist, locking his hands in front of her. His hands laid on her stomach, but even though there was clothes in-between them, it felt as if it was just skin contact. Misaki took in a breath and brought her attention to her trusty steed.

Hei looked ahead of him and saw that there were a few guards positioned in front of the gate, highly unaware of them. Gohan was positioned straight ahead. "Get ready Gohan." Misaki stroked the horse's mane and he neighed softly, already knowing the ritual. Gohan started off with a slow run, first gaining speed. The two riding bareback felt every step as he thundered into a higher speed. Finally the guards spotted them, trying to get the gates closed before the beast was able to escape. They stepped in front of the raging beast, expecting it to stop, but it never did.

Gohan ran faster, wind stinging their eyes as he leapt forward, right over the gates, keeping his momentum as he ran toward the village. Misaki was laughing loud and free. "Great job Gohan." He slowed his pace, galloping in step as he regained his breath. "So where to escort?"

"I'll get off here." Hei jumped off the still moving horse. Hei jumped to his feet, and laughed inwardly at Misaki's unconscious pout. "I'll be back by the morning too." She smiled and rode away. Hei snuck through the back like he had when he left the other morning back to Mrs. Jo.

"Hello there dear… how's everything?" The old lady was at her stove, preparing a box lunch. "I just knew you'd be back and I knew you'd be hungry."

"I got in."

"That's great to hear, but you can't come back here. You'll draw too much attention to yourself…" There was a knock on the door and they both went silent. "Who's that?"

"I can guess," said Hei walking to the door. On the other side of it held the very princess he had just left a few minutes ago, smiling broad, but really surprised to find Hei there.

"Li what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Are we going through this again?"

Mrs. Jo smiled at the princess. "It's nice to see you princess; I appreciate what you've done for me." Misaki stepped inside of the small abode, looking around.

"No thank you Mrs…"

"Jo, Mrs. Jo's the name."

"Yes. I wanted to make sure you were alright after the attack. I'm sorry about the soldiers…"

"It's no problem. As long as things get resolved. Now since it's so late, why don't the both of you stay here a while?"

"I'd love to," said the princess, "the castle was becoming awful boring." Mrs. Jo left Hei and Misaki alone as she walked to the stove to set out some food.

Mrs. Jo set the tea cups in front of her guests and then the bowl of soup and bread. It was nothing spectacular. There were still pieces of leaf floating in the bottom of the chipped china, and the wooden spoons had grown old and were cracking.

"Mrs. Jo, you don't need to feed us, I'm sure its hard enough with how this kingdom is anyway."

"Don't worry about that. I am an old lady; I know a few tricks or two about using what I have to make a living." The old woman sat down next to Misaki and elbowed her softly, getting her attention as she watched Hei sit in the seat across from them. "Now, that man, who had me in his grasps…" she paused and looked at Hei, "what did you think of him?" Misaki, who was in the process of drinking her drink, spit it out into the table, apologizing. "You couldn't take your eyes off him!"

"Now Mrs. Jo, that is… I couldn't take my eyes off… I was making sure he wouldn't run!" Misaki finished.

"I don't know about you, but Li kind of resembles him don't you think…" Now was Hei's turn to spit out his tea, minus the apology. He glared at Mrs. Jo; Misaki was busy cleaning the mess she had made earlier.

"No, I don't think so, when I first saw Li in the castle, I thought it was him too, but I guess it was my eyes playing tricks on me."

"So you think about the man huh?" smiled a mischievous Jo.

"Of course not, I'm a princess, soon to be the head of my father's throne."

"And sooner than later I hope… I can't take another one of…" Mrs. Jo bit her tongue as the frown appeared on Misaki's face. "I'm sorry…"

"No, if I could do something about it, I would, but you know how the lineal thing goes; the best I can do is sneak into the village and help that way. One day this place'll change, but until that day, please hang on."

"Don't you have to get married before that happens?"

"Uh…"

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Um…"

"What about Li?" Misaki looked to Li. His face was emotionless, but for some reason she could feel hate radiating off of him. "He's single… and he's absolutely handsome, and can protect you…"

It took a while for the girl to answer. She was looking at Li, gazing into those dark deep eyes, thinking something. "I get it, but no thanks. I'll be off to bed then. Thank you Mrs. Jo, good night Li."

"You and her will be great together," whispered Mrs. Jo as Hei too left her alone.

-X-


	3. Chapter 3

I own nothing!

Black Knight Chapter 3

-X-

Hei and Misaki were on their way out through the back door early the next morning, crossing the path of the neighbor's backyard. The curtains of the neighboring house once again was open a sliver. It was dark in the house and nothing was able to be seen, but when the two walked passed, the curtains shut immediately, and was still once again.

Gohan neighed loudly when Misaki handed him two large apples and some oats Mrs. Jo had insisted she take for the starving horse. "Alright Li, get on."

"I can't. I'll walk beside you." It was daylight and there were people already out and about doing the days work. How would it look if she was riding around with a man? If word got out to her teacher about her etiquette, she'd be in trouble.

"I understand."

Back inside of the castle, they were assailed with clerks and other people of the castle. "Where have you been Misaki," said the king walking down the steps to greet his daughter. He saw what she was wearing and flipped. "You went out like that? I know you snuck out last night, where were you, and who is this?"

"My name is L…Li sir…" said Hei in a stuttery manner.

"I'm sorry your highness, I forgot to mention it to you. This here is Li, Misaki's new escort."

"Forgot to mention it! Quentin this isn't the first time you forgot to tell me something important. If this happens again, so help me…"

Hei eyed the advisor; he didn't like him all that much.

"I'll be sure that it doesn't happen again," bowed Quentin.

Over the day, Li did as he was supposed to. He followed the princess to where she had to go. In the mornings were piano classes, and then French classes, immediately following that were cooking and etiquette classes; it was really a lot for one girl to take in. Once or twice Misaki tried to sneak away, and once or twice Hei had to pull her back to the classroom. In one of her classes, Hei wasn't allowed in. The teacher had only allowed females members of the castle to enter the room (she would be teaching Misaki the proper ways of a princess), but Hei was not complaining, he still had another job to do.

Taking this as a chance the man exited the hallway, searching for the right thing to get the king off the throne. He walked through the halls, sneaking here and there before entering many a room. He found nothing… how was he to get the throne from the king anyways?

Behind him one of the regular soldiers walked passed after doing their rounds. Hei was still snooping, looking really suspicious. "Hey," the soldier called out. Hei kept still having his hands free in case he needed a quick escape. The soldier came closer to him. "Why are you snooping around here Li?"

Li turned around. "I kind of got lost…"

"Don't lie to me!" The soldier's face was serious. "That teacher locked you out didn't she. Yeah I hate it when she's here, but luckily its only once a week right?" Li smiled as his back got slapped. "Well I've got to go. See you later Li." The soldier walked around the corner, but stopped short. "Oh one more thing. Keigo is pissed at you just so you know. I'd be careful of him if I were you. I heard he was one of the king's special army."

"Special army?"

"Yeah, you know, powers."

"Thanks for the warning."

The elderly man walked out of his house with a cloak after he was sure that no one saw him. The night was silent and still as he made his way to the castle. It was already closing time; the king had allowed his villagers to file complaints to Quentin, but the time for that closed relatively early—early enough that by the time the villagers had finished their work, they would be too late to file anything.

"Hey you, come back tomorrow, you know that complaining is closed."

"I'm sorry," replied the old man to the soldier, "I forgot to tell you my name." The soldier looked both ways and then nodded, letting the man go around back.

Quentin was notified that the man was waiting in back for him. The man looked to Quentin exactly as he had that day his image changed... His once thick gray hair had just become thinner and his eyes deeper. "What do you have for me Hubert?" Since the first day Hubert had come to the village, he was immediately disliked by the villagers. He would watch them and then go to the advisor to tattle on them; he was a poor man and had nothing better to do with his time, always hoping to cash in on the meager rewards that were posted. The first couple of times the whole castle had pushed him aside. One day he had gotten in trouble and Quentin knew of his spying ways; he wanted to make the man "the watcher", to watch all the going-ons in the village and then go and tell them about it. They faked his punishment, and with a change of his image, they sent him back to his house. None of the villagers were wise to this partnership, and that included the king.

"That dreadful woman had two people sneaking from her house early this morning…"

"Did you find out who they were?"

"No, but the man… I could tell it was a man and a woman—the man seemed familiar somehow..."

Quentin followed after Hubert, making sure he left the castle. Keigo was leaning on the stone wall when he returned. "Quentin."

"Keigo."

"I hope that our plans are under way?"

"Let us see first; we cannot have any mistakes. We will be killed should we make any."

"I can't wait until the king is dead," said Keigo.

Hei walked to the lunch hall and sat across from a soldier who slept above him on the bunk. "Hey there," waved the soldier.

"Hi," said Hei getting back into his Li persona. "I have a question to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Well, you see Princess Misaki was complaining about how her dad never does anything. How would one who, I don't know, wanted to get the king off the throne do so?"

"Oh that's easy. The princess gets married."

"The princess gets married? Is that it?"

"Yeah. Her dad has a thing about her being next in line for the throne, he talks about it all the time. He doesn't like how nice she is to the people, thinks they are going to walk all over her."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, why yes it is." Hei got up, leaving his food untouched. He was glad he had decided to skip dinner with Misaki; he felt she was truly starting to like him. He would catch her stealing glances at him, and looking away quickly when he turned in that direction. His plan was to find a way to dethrone the king and because he too at least liked the woman, he wouldn't put her through the pain of losing another parent.

Naoyasu paced about the room, cursing loudly under his breath. "Where the hell did she go?" Misaki's room was untouched, as if she hadn't been in her bed all night. It was already two in the morning; the king had only come in there to check up on her, but she wasn't there. "Where is this Li person… isn't he supposed to be with her?"

Quentin was beside him. "No, sir, he stays in his own quarters until the morning." King Naoyasu coughed up a fit. "Are you okay sir? You should rest… you aren't getting any better."

"No, get that man and tell him to find my daughter."

Hei climbed the makeshift sheet rope and touched the window. Inside he saw the men gathering around a red-faced king. He jumped down and went back to Misaki. "You better find a reason as to why you were out so late."

"Why?"

"Your dad, he's in your room and I think he's looking for you."

"Umm I'll think of it on the way up." They entered the castle and went up to Misaki's room. The door was filled to the max with men in armor. Both of them recognized Keigo in the bunch; his words were heard among the rest.

"We can't find him King Naoyasu… he must be with her."

"Oh man," squealed the king, "I can't lose her too." He sat on the bed, breathing hard. His face went a deeper shade of red, and his hand clutched his chest.

"King, are you okay?"

"Someone get a doctor!" Misaki heard the cries and ran to her father; no one had wondered where she was as she went to him. Hei stepped up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"There you are you scumbag. When this is all over, you are going to wish you hadn't come back from wherever you came," said Keigo with a fierce voice.

Hei sat in the corner of the room. King Naoyasu was in bed and sleeping soundly. Princess Misaki sat next to Hei crying her little heart out. "If it wasn't for me," she began, "I made him worry too much. I should have known after what happened to my mom."

"What happened to your mom?" When Misaki looked up at him, Hei could see the hurt in her eyes.

"My mom, she died when I was little. I almost never knew her, but I remember faint moments…" she laughed a rueful laugh. "It was one day when she had gone into the village. She used to make runs, you know, to make sure that none of her people were too bad off. Well, you know you can never truly do everything. It's inevitable that there will be poor people, and the only thing we can do is help those we can help. A man from the village, he attacked my mom out of nowhere. He organized the hit," She cried fresh tears now, making it almost difficult to hear her words, "got a whole group some of the poorer villagers to help him kill her." She looked at Hei again. "They killed her, the only one who actually cared for them," Misaki yelled as she stood up and walked to the side of her dad's bed.

"I understood exactly why my father had always resented me going out to the village, but it's not like he did anything when she was alive right? I felt I had to take over for her, and I truly did feel that the villagers deserved better than how they were living, especially since not all of them are that terrible." She walked back to Hei and he stood up to hug her. He felt bad for her and he felt worse for Naoyasu, but he had to get the king off the throne. He for sure had no idea what was going on. He was only the puppet, and Hei believed that the puppet master would be worse if he got his way.

Quentin and Keigo stood in an isolated hallway far from any prying ears. "We were so close, who would've known that this man would be this bad?"

"I knew for a while that he was getting sicker, but I never knew it was this bad. He might die naturally, but who knows how long that'll take."

"Quentin, I have an idea on how this could go about faster, and be beneficial for both of us."

The king's advisor looked at his partner. "What do you propose?"

"I hate this Li character, for some reason… he reminds me too much of that one man…"

"Keigo, your point..."

"Oh yes, what if we kill the king, and make it look like Li did it. But before that, you get him to agree that Misaki should be wedded to you." Quentin was quiet so Keigo went on. "Afterwards, you can do whatever you want."

"Even if the princess should dislike the idea I am still in control am I not?"

"Exactly."

"Then how would we stage the death Keigo?"

"I have just the idea too. Just leave that to me. I'll have Princess Misaki feeling sorry that she let that man go with her instead of me."

Hei looked at sleeping princess sighing a heavy sigh. He had finally convinced her to get some rest. Almost every hour since the day had begun, the villagers had been bringing food and get-well gifts to the king. They stepped into the room, gave their sympathy to the princess and laid their gifts on the floor next to the bed.

Hei was especially surprised that they had actually wanted to send him gifts; but he recalled what Misaki had said: "They weren't all bad people." Most of them only brought things because of what Misaki had done for them in the past.

Misaki had started to yawn, and look like she was trying to fight the sleep that was slowly creeping upon her like darkness right after the sun had set. Hei told her to lie down a bit, but she felt she had to watch over everything and thank the villagers. Finally, after she had fallen asleep while standing (and almost fell to the floor had Hei not caught her), she agreed to get some rest.

There was a knock on the door after Hei had covered the princess up with a blanket. Mrs. Jo opened the door a smidge and peeked into the room. "How are you doing Li? What about the princess?" Hei motioned to the woman, her tear-streaked face looking troubled. "The poor thing. I hope that she feels better." The elder woman took out a small bag from her handbag and handed it to the man. "When she gets up, have her eat this. She'll feel much better. You need to eat something too okay, you're looking a bit under the weather as well." She gave a sorrowful look back to the both of them and went on her way.

In the hallway, Mrs. Jo walked to the stairwell, but not before passing the hallway where Quentin and Keigo had been talking. The woman moved her eyes over to the darkened hall. She saw two figures. One was the king's advisor, but the other was the soldier that was at her house those days ago. She looked ahead suspecting something to be going on. Why would they be meeting so secretively? Mrs. Jo walked out of the hospital as fast as possible, hoping to God that what she saw was just a coincidence that the feeling she felt ensuing from those in the hall was not at all ill will.

-X-

A/N: Ohh Hei and Misaki are getting closer… and Quentin and Keigo are making up a plan… things getting interesting enough for you…?


	4. Chapter 4

Black Knight Chapter 4

I own nothing and probably never will… PROBABLY (it doesn't mean it won't happen :P)

-X-

Naoyasu Kirihara sat upright on the hospital bed; he looked around to get his bearings realizing he had just had a heart attack. He saw the man and his daughter sitting together, and when Hei looked him in the eye, Hei gently shook the daughter, telling her silently that her father was awake.

Misaki looked at her father, smiling and crying as she rushed over to him. "I'm sorry dad," she said, "I didn't mean to make you worried."

"It's okay Misaki. I know you didn't. I just want to get back home." The man loved his daughter, and it was shown as he rubbed her back to soothe away the guilt she was feeling. Hei felt like he was intruding and turned to leave when Naoyasu called him back. "Thanks for making sure she was okay."

Misaki was still feeling bad about what had happened. Of course it wasn't her fault, she could not predict the effect of her father's worries and Hei tried to get her to understand that. They were outside walking in the deadening night. From the moonlight, Hei could see the despair still painted on the woman's face.

"You know what," he said grabbing her hands. This was very uncharacteristic of Hei, but it needed to be done, and plus, he was happy to help her in any way; she wasn't a bad person at all either. "You are annoying the hell out of me with your moping." He pulled her into the stables. "We are going for a ride."

"I don't want to…"

"Well too bad," said Hei already lifting her up, and getting in front of her. "I drive and you just ride." They started off in a slow gallop. Nothing was said between the two, and looking back occasionally, Hei could see that nothing had changed. Smiling inwardly, he whipped the reins, telling the horse to go faster.

Gohan picked up the pace, so fast in fact that Misaki almost fell off. She grabbed onto her escort just in time, yelling at him for almost killing her. The wind blew her hair behind her face, and her eyes stung from the fresh, crisp air that blew into them. She wrapped her hands tighter around Hei. Hei felt this and touched her hand, speaking in silence that everything was going to be alright. That spark was back, but it made her feel worse. How could she be happy when her dad was in pain? Fresh tears stung her eyes and she nuzzled in closer to Hei, gaining comfort from him as they went through the silent night.

Gohan's hooves hit dirt now and he was told to slow down when they reached a pasture; they were in the middle of somewhere, along the way, somehow, their direction was lost. Hei unwrapped the woman's hand from his waist and stepped off the horse. After helping the princess down, Hei started leading the way. Her hands were kept in his; she really didn't want to lose that comfort. Over yonder was a small bench sitting alone in the field in front of a fence. The fence was the barrier to the cliff that stood right in front of the bench.

The two sat down, neither saying a word. Their hands were still interlocked, sitting on the cold bench's wood. "Princess Misaki," said Hei walking up and going over the fence.

"Li, what are you doing? That's dangerous!"

"What would you do if I fell from this cliff?" Misaki looked at him. "What would you do?"

"What are you saying Li? You're going to fall." Hei walked closer to the edge, almost as if he was a cat treading on a building's edge.

"The longer you're sad about what happened, the longer I will stay here."

"Okay," said Misaki, forcing a smile, "I'm happy now, see?" Hei looked at her, not amused.

"I know you're lying."

"Come on Li!" She stepped up closer to the fence, extending her hand so he could take it.

"You are your people's only hope, don't you know that? They brought gifts to your dad, but they were mostly for you. They cherish you and they thank you for all you try to do to help them. If you keep up this guilt trip, then who's to say you won't affect the whole entire village?"

Misaki stared at him. "I don't want that… but if I didn't go out…" Hei kept his composure, as he sighed again, walking even closer to the edge. "Li…"

"If I fall, it's on you… it was just an accident okay, and remember, he said he was fine. Do you really want to go against his word at a time like this?" Hei stared at her finally sensing that she had finally come through. The woman extended her hand and Hei took it. She pulled on him hard, causing him to fall onto her.

"I guess you were right about falling on me…" Her eyes had gotten her stubbornness back and her personality shined through as she planted a kiss on his lips. Hei chuckled a bit before he too, kissed her back…

"Sir, I hope you are feeling better today?" The king was back in his own bed, still a little weary from the attack. Misaki had insisted she stay with him, in case he needed anything, but he had tried to get it through her mind that that was what nursemaids were for. She still kept insisting, so he had to call Li to take her out, anywhere, so that she could calm down.

He noticed the affect the man had on his daughter; she usually wouldn't have relented so easily, or it was because she was still feeling guilty… "Quentin, have you noticed that Misaki has taken a liking to Li?" Quentin stayed quiet, not sure if he should really answer. "She's changed much since he came here… but sadly it cannot be."

"What do you mean sir?"

"Well, he may be able to quell her obstinacy, but it will not make for running a kingdom. This place needs someone who I know is capable of running things, especially since I am so ill. I want her to be happy, but the kingdom must come first. I think, should anything happen to me," the king took the hands of his advisor, "that you should be the one to marry my daughter, Princess Misaki."

Quentin held in his bliss. "Thank you sir, it means a great deal to see how much you treasure my abilities."

Gohan walked over to the naked figure on the dew-ridden grass. His nose nuzzled whom he knew to be Misaki and she laughed as she playfully swatted his nose away. Misaki sat up, feeling the salubrious air floating around her body, making her remember what had happened the night before. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she quickly dressed and looked around for the man who had been with her last night. Gohan nuzzled her again and she laughed. "Alright, I'll find you some food, but first we have to find Li." It was a wide, and although at the moment empty pasture, it should still be easy to spot the man.

Gohan sniffed the grass eating bits and pieces of it as he led the woman to a large tree. Gohan stood on his hind legs, trying to reach for some delicious reds. "Oh so your hunger comes before the search okay, hold on." Misaki climbed the tree expertly. She positioned herself on the branch and shook it dropping three of the reds onto the ground. She jumped down and grabbed one before Gohan went for it; he neighed his disapproval.

"This one is mine Gohan." Misaki blew on the fruit, wiping on her shirt and was about to take a bite when she heard the crunching of grass behind her. She turned to see none other than Li walking toward her, hands holding something steaming.

"Wouldn't you rather eat this instead?" Misaki still took that bite of the fruit before going over to the man. Her blush was back on her face as she recalled the heat and the lust between the two of them. She shook her head and took the food.

"Where did you find this?" As far as she knew, there wasn't a house or anything to cook for yards.

"Well, that shouldn't matter…" said Hei walking away. "We better eat and get on our way before your father gets worried again."

"Well then," she said already on Gohan, "Race you there!"

Mrs. Jo had woken up late this morning. She had stayed up till late last night just in case the others had come to visit her, but she fell asleep and before she knew it the roosters' loud calls did nothing to abolish her sleep. She was about to open the door when she stopped to make sure that everything was in proper order before she left. Upon doing so, she saw the neighbor get out of his house; something he rarely did. She remembered the first time he came to the village; it was after the queen had died, and no body had bothered to invite him into the village, everyone except for Mrs. Jo. She had baked a cake that day to give to him—a housewarming cake. He accepted it with a vacant thank you and closed the door; she wasn't even able to get a good look at the man. She hadn't seen him leave that house ever, not even when there were parades, or festivals, for nothing did he leave his house. Finally peeling her eyes from the window, the woman swiftly walked away from her house to get the days provisions. The bad feeling that was over her had not left at all that day.

Li dropped the princess off in her room after a much awkward (awkward for her at least) goodbye. The day had just begun and he was pretty sure the soldiers were already up and getting everything ready. The barracks were empty when the man walked in; everything was clean and neat, the beds made, the floor swept. He walked over to his bunk; he hadn't slept in it for days now but it wasn't as if he missed it. He got a change of clothes and was headed to the latrines when Keigo stepped out in front of him. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Hei took a step back as the man continued forward. "Where were you?"

"I was out, doing my job, escorting the princess around."

"Is that so?" Hei nodded. "You know you may think you are above the others because you're an escort, but you do know that you are still a soldier right? And that, as a soldier, I am still your commanding officer?"

"And as one who is in good graces with the princess… I believe I have power over you wouldn't you say?" It came without warning, the punch did, just like the last one.

"I hate you Li; I hate you good." Keigo took off his jacket and exposed his hands free of cloth. I will kill you," screamed the commander. Hei saw the blue outline projecting from the man. Hei had no idea what powers the man had. Keigo jumped up and brought electricity – the yellow kind – and slammed his hands onto the bed. The springs shot up from the bed, cheap Styrofoam-like material filled the air as Hei moved away once again.

Quentin smiled after he got news that Keigo was in the barracks and Li was there. Now all that would matter would be time. If all went well, then he would have his throne. The advisor walked into the room, careful to make sure that he was seen inside of the room. The king looked ill, but in truth he was actually recovering… it's just a shame to think that after surviving to rule for another day he'd be murdered by the people he trusted most. He spoke to the king for a while, again, making sure the timing wasn't off. If Misaki came in, all that was planned for. If she stayed longer than needed, that was planned for too. Her etiquette teacher would be there early and she was the one teacher who would punish Misaki for being late to class.

Quentin was still having the meaningless conversation with the king when Misaki knocked on the grand oak doors. She entered the room nodding to Quentin as he left the room. Only a few more hours or minutes, depending on whatever happened first. They were playing a game of chance here and the outcome was any possibility at all.

Would it matter at all if he used his powers? Hei was still dodging, throwing things at Keigo. He thought no. Hei let his power go, becoming outlined in the same astral line his foe was, as the blue electric attack took Keigo by surprise. Keigo stared at the man, that anger that had caused him to punch Hei the first time they met (when he was Li) was back on his face.

"You…" Once the word came out of his mouth Hei knew he knew, not that it mattered anymore. "You were the son of a bitch who attacked me in the village." Hei decided to attack again, ignoring the state of shock the soldier was in. The attacks came harder and it was then that Hei decided to run. Keigo laughed as Hei determined the best thing to do would be to leave… if anyone came in, the new guy would always be first suspect.

One of the other conspirators had motioned that Li was on the move from the castle. Two soldiers, walked up to Li and told him that the king wanted to see him. Hei couldn't at all not show up next to the king. If anything, that could be his alibi for the search party that was undoubtedly going to happen.

Misaki ran out of the room, running to make it in time for class. Her dad was getting better she could tell and that just made her happy.

Hei hurried up the steps, wary of every soldier that came passing by. For some reason he'd think he was more the lone knight type of guy, almost like he had another life kind of thing, but he dismissed the thought. He was in the open, and that in itself made it hard to concentrate.

Keigo got to the king's quarters way before Hei did. There were more than one way to the hall that connected his room, but again, only his most trusted colleagues knew about that. The king had a smile on his face as Keigo walked closer to him.

"Keigo how are you? It's been forever it seems." The king spoke only in a whisper as if speaking at volume would hurt him. Keigo walked as if he was going to talk. He seized the noble's hands and looked into his eyes. It was a good thing Keigo liked this man, or else he would've killed him with no mercy. The commanding officer's dark eyes went red and his body outlined blue once again.

"Keigo," whispered Naoyasu, "what is this?"

"This my king, is us taking the throne." Keigo's voice was still, solid, and with out movement as he took the life of his king. The electricity traveled to the man's heart heart, slowly messing the natural rhythm. A small smile later, Keigo exited the room just as Hei walked in with Quentin and a few other guards.

"You can't go in, he needs his rest."

"He said he wanted to talk to me…" Hei walked over to the king, who was blinking and had the impression of being alive, yet the moment Hei touched him, all fell to pieces. A glint sparkled in Quentin's eyes as he yelled out.

"Did you guys not see the look of pain upon our king's face as this man laid his hands upon him?" The guards looked at each other confused.

"I didn't see anything…" said one.

"Me either…"

"I did!" exclaimed yet another.

"Now I remember," they said one by one, minds changing with the others speculations. They stood at stance, swords and other weapons at the ready to attack. Quentin walked up to Hei.

"You dare kill the king? You are the man that had run away are you not?" Keigo came from the door, leaning on another's heavy shoulder as they helped him into the room.

"He does dare Quentin… look what he did to me. He is a contractor." Words of amazement escaped the soldiers' lips.

"I should have known," laughed Hei, "of course you were both in this conspiracy."

"Guards," said Quentin, not wanting to humor the man. Not all of the soldiers were in on the plan, and it was best to keep them thinking it was Hei; they fight for the king, they surely wouldn't fight to save those who premeditated the king's murder.

Hei jumped out of the window and ran from the men chasing him. They came in hordes and he was confident that the whole battalion was after him. He feared what he had to do, but it was either do it and live to fight another day, or don't do it, and leave Misaki alone with that man… it wasn't a hard decision at all.

Hei looked back and almost laughed at the sight. The whole crowd that was after him were wearing metal, metal that would kill if in contact with electricity, and not only that though, they were standing so close together, that they'd shock themselves. He said sorry to them all before they fell to the ground lifeless.

It had at some time turned night as Mrs. Jo continued to follow the man. She had decided that instead of going to get the first picking of the day, she could see where this man was going to go; it was too interesting to let the man go after all these years of him staying locked up in his house.

He had been to the castle at least three different times since she started following him. At first she thought it was just him going to meet with the guards to complain, but that's not what he did. He said something, and the guards nodded, letting him through. Hours later it seemed, the man reappeared and with both the king's advisor, as Mrs. Jo had known him by, and the ruthless man who had wanted Li to kill her. Wondering why he was with them she kept on following. The same thing happened the two other times, except the second time Keigo was with the man, and then the third time, two soldiers came out from nowhere.

The old man walked from the shadows of the castle's grounds and started on route back home. Mrs. Jo watched the way the man walked, the way he checked every house on the street he passed by with suspicion. He reminded her of somebody… somebody who she really did not want to remember. They arrived, each of them, at their respective homes. Mrs. Jo stayed outside… something was wrong here.

In the bush, Hei jumped out. He was back in his black clothes and he blended with the shadows as if he were the shadows himself. He saw the old Mrs. Jo standing outside of her house, away from the neighbor's window's view. He threw a branch out to her, getting her attention. Her eyes grew wide with hope as she hurried to the man in black.

"Are you alright… there's something not right here Li, something not right at all."

"I know. The king's advisor… and Keigo… we have to get you out of here. If anything your house is the first place they'll check."

"Are you saying…" Hei closed his eyes. "How horrible. No one deserves to die like that." Hei grabbed her hand and placed in it a bag.

"Here, everything you need. Find somewhere to lay low for a while. I'm going to see what I can do." Mrs. Jo looked at the man. He was taking on problems that weren't his own and he was paying for it. Hei pushed her on her way, but she stopped short, a thought in her mind. "If they killed the king… then what about the princess…" Hei looked away not wanting to answer that particular question himself. He was pretty sure that she'd be safe, at least for now; he hoped she'd be safe for now. "I understand. You find her okay. You make sure you get that woman back."

The nursemaids had all gathered into the chamber to collect the body of the king and prepare him for the coroner who was to come some hours in the later morning. Misaki had been by her dad's side all day, crying harshly at the unfairness of the world. Quentin had walked up to her and told her to let the nurse-maids do their job.

"Where's Li?" asked the princess. She was standing up and about to walk out of the room to follow whoever was to fetch him. "I need to see him now." Her tears were still falling fresh and salty, running down her cheeks.

"Princess…" She sensed a bit of hesitation in the advisor's voice.

"What is it Quentin?"

"Li…"

"What about him?" Misaki stepped over to the man, insisting he tell her what was on his mind.

"It was Li who was found with your father's dead body." The shock that ran its course through her body caused the woman to fall onto the bed. "I'm sorry; we all knew how you felt."

"Are you telling me you think Li killed dad?" Quentin nodded, not looking at her. Misaki started talking, more to herself, trying to tell herself that it couldn't have been Li who killed her father, what would he have to gain from it? She stood up, knees wobbly from the shock, and demanded to see him.

"You cannot my princess."

"I will."

"He has fled. And also, he was the man you had arrested, remember, the man in black, the contractor?" Misaki stared at him in disbelief.

"No, no… why?" She was starting to doubt her own thoughts. "I don't care where he is, I want him found now. He'll explain it to me." She stepped away again from the advisor but he went back in front of her.

"I told you, you can't."

"What? What is going on Quentin? I demand you let me go."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this after all that has happened, and especially at such a fragile time…"

"Get out with it," said a fierce princess.

"I have been made king officially," he said handing over the documents to her, "and as of tomorrow, you will be my queen."

-X-

A/N: Whoa! Who'd want to marry a jerk like him? I just have to write that I was having fun writing this chapter… the romance scene had me laughing, just because (I have no real reason; I was just laughing) but either way, I'd really like to get feedback on the emotional aspect of the last two chapters, and the next ones; I think I need to work on that…


	5. Chapter 5

[Insert disclaimer here]

Black Knight chapter 5

-X-

Princess Misaki Kirihara jumped onto her bed, hoping for dear life that all this was just a nightmare… she knew it wasn't, it was a _living_ nightmare. Outside she saw that most of the soldiers were missing, most likely mourning her father's death, but the rest were talking animatedly to each other, drinking and singing, as if this tragedy hadn't befallen them. She realized at that moment that this was planned… and Li could or could not have had anything to do with what she now knew was a conspiracy.

"They might come after me next…" she spoke in a whisper even though she was alone. Looking back once more at the soldiers enjoying themselves, the princess resolved to leave the very place she grew up in.

The moon was shining bright in the dark sky when Misaki threw down the rope sheet. She climbed down swiftly but carefully, finally landing on the fresh patch of grass in front of her window. She looked around for any sign of life before proceeding forward to the stable, where the only thing she was sure wouldn't betray her, resided.

"Hey Gohan." Misaki pulled the black stallion from his place and guided him outside to the clear night. "I'm going to say this is our last ride Gohan. Let's get out of here." As if understanding her every word, the horse neighed softly, taking to a run as soon as she got her hands on the reigns. The soldiers at the post were all asleep; they were drunk from the night's partying. Gohan and his speed made it over the gate with no problem and together the duo rode into the village.

The moon watched over the princess, leading her to Mrs. Jo's place. Misaki had taken a liking to Mrs. Jo the moment she had invited her inside of her house; she was a sweet lady who seemed to care about others dearly (that Misaki already knew). Misaki slowed Gohan and jumped off, keeping him in her hands as she walked over to the door. The lights were off inside of the house on either side of the street, but Mrs. Jo's house had a particular feeling to it. Misaki knocked lightly on the chipping wood door. "Mrs. Jo?" Misaki waited; nothing. "Mrs. Jo?" Nothing happened again and she knew something wasn't right. Somehow, Gohan had gotten free from her and he was at the neighbor's house, grazing for what little grass he could find. "Gohan…" whispered Misaki. She ran to him, trying to get him from getting too the house. He was right across from the window, his face was, and in order to grab the reins and actually control him, she had come up beside him. She turned, faced the window, and what she saw almost made her scream.

Misaki had just noticed the horse. In front of her, she hadn't noticed that the man who lived across from Mrs. Jo had been watching her, all this time. He was watching as her horse went over to his yard, grazing the weedy patch of yard for little sustenance. The horse came closer, and he knew he should have closed the curtain, but he didn't. Misaki walked up to the horse, and grabbed the reins. When he still didn't move she mouthed a silent exasperated shout and turned to face the window. On the other side of the window, she saw the darkness behind the small crack in the curtains. Then out of nowhere a yellowish eye shot out at her; the man had blinked. She held in her scream as the yellow eye kept staring at her, penetrating her own innocent eyes. She jumped onto Gohan and ran into the night again, going God knows where… so long as she got away from those eyes… They were sad, and almost full of guilt, but why?

The wind stood still this night, neither blowing a loose leaf off a bare tree nor cooling the princess's fevered skin. She rode on Gohan still, who was not at all sure when his master wanted him to stop. Misaki opened her eyes and remembered Li's warm comfort… oh how she missed that.

"Princess…"

Misaki continued out into space forgetting about everything around her. The ride had gotten smoother she noticed, in fact it had outright stopped. Gohan had stopped running through the night for a snack that had happened to be on the road. "Gohan, really? I'm sorry that all I've been doing was making you run, but we can't stop…" Somehting sounded behind her and she turned abruptly.

"Princess, over here." Misaki looked to the woman and almost broke down when she saw the smiling face.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you at home?"

"Princess, we'll talk later, but first we need to get inside."

"Quentin!" Keigo walked inside of the newest addition of Quentin's chambers.

"What is it Keigo?" Quentin looked to the commander-in-chief. He looked in place in his cushioned throne.

"I am awaiting your order sire. I can go and take what I need to the village right?"

"Why not… I will not tolerate any—" Hubert came from the door walking slow-like. "Wait a minute," he said turning to address Hubert.

"Your highness. I have news. I believe to have seen the princess roaming Mrs. Jo's house sir… and the witch… she hasn't been back yet." His voice had a hint of something in it that was left undetected.

"Hubert, I thank you for all your spying, and I think it better you go home now. We shall deal with them both."

"How so sir?" He asked.

"Is that concern I hear?" asked Keigo smiling a malicious smile.

"No, no…"

"When it comes, it shall come, now get back home."

Hubert left the castle in as much as a rush as it took him to get there. The sun was shining dully down on him, getting ready for its slumber. Hubert reached his house, glancing at Mrs. Jo's house longingly before going back to the task at hand. He opened the door and entered.

Hubert's house was dark when he entered it. The sun's dying rays blocked by the heavy tapestry that hung from the windows. He walked expertly through the boxes that were stacked beside the wall, through the trash piling up in the various rooms. Hubert went inside of his room and sat in behind a table looking out at his neighbor's house. Hubert stared and stared at it, way into the night, and he continued to stare, staring, staring, and staring some more…

Hei tiptoed behind the man and waited a while before he turned the knob. It was unlocked. This was uncommon for old man Hubert to keep his door unlocked. Hei stepped inside and looked around the dark house waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark. Nothing was heard, and nothing was obviously seen, but with silent and careful steps, Hei made it into the man's bedroom, where he was met with the sight of a man staring only at an empty house.

Hei walked up to Hubert, not at all trying to be discreet now. "What can you tell me about Quentin and Keigo?" Hubert continued to look forward, almost unblinking, and Hei was not about to waste time with the man. He was going to grab the man's collar, but the sigh that escaped his lips told Hei that he was willing to talk.

"They are to be feared…" Hubert turned to Hei to find out that it was in fact the man that Jo had saved, did not surprise him in the least. "They want to take over this village."

"Why?"

"Why else?" He walked up, stepping up to a light but not bothering to turn it on. "They want power… I guess."

"What about you?" asked Hei, "what is your part in all of this? Why help them?" Hubert looked at Hei, a long hateful look, but it transitioned to the guilty look that Misaki had seen through the window.

"I…"

"Either way, you're coming with me. I think I know how to make you talk."

Keigo walked into the barracks the next morning, yelling and slapping the metal structures of the bed to get his men awake. "Get up you bums!" he yelled taking no pity in how they were awakened. The men, like usual, lined up in front of him, in an orderly fashioned and stood at the ready for what he was to say. "Men!"

"Yes sir," they yelled in unison.

"It's time to exact my revenge!"

The soldiers walked three by four on the dirt road, stomping in step to the village. Here, they stopped at Keigo's command. "Men," he yelled again, so loudly that the villagers that were working outside had to stare. "Find them… the princess, take her alive, Mrs. Jo, take her either way, and Li… leave him to me. Destroy what you have to to get these people to talk, but make sure they tell you what they know. The man roared their approval and went to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting village.

Mrs. Jo turned on her bed and sat up to stretch the pains of the floor away. She stood, taking her time to get to the kitchen and prepare morning food for her and the princess. It had been late the other night and they were both too tired to continue their discussion at the house. They both went to sleep as soon as they entered the house.

Mrs. Jo slid herself over to the kitchen, seeing the bright sun's rays hitting the floor. How good a day it'll be today, she thought, a good and happy day to tell the princess everything she had found out only those days ago. Upon stepping into the kitchen, Mrs. Jo noticed she had an unwanted visitor tied up to a chair. Her scream rang loud, waking both the bound man and the princess, who ran to see what the problem was. Hubert looked at them both and Misaki remembered those eyes. She brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from yelling out as she took a seat across from him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Mrs. Jo seething with rage.

"I don't know, this man brought me here and tied me up," replied Hubert.

"I want you out… I want you out now!"

"How can I get out you witch, I am tied up." Mrs. Jo made a move, but thought better of it.

"What's going on Mrs. Jo… do you know this man?" Hubert eyed the old woman who had small tears on her face, but they were tears of pain and anger.

"Yes princess I do."

"Who is this then?"

"His real name is…"

"Real name… are you saying you know?" Hubert's eyes were wide with fear.

"Of course," said Jo with spite, I found out a couple of days ago."

"Mrs. Jo," asked Misaki looking between the two of them, "what are you talking about?"

"This man, his real name is Goodwyn Jo… my ex-husband."

There was a warm glow of fire somewhere off into the distance, and the screams of the villagers trying to leave their house were in the air. The soldiers marched, on through, not giving a care in the world for the people they walked over. A few of them had horses with them, galloping ahead to get the best houses to destroy. The villagers ran past Hei and other soldiers. Kids were crying loudly as their parents pushed them with much haste out into the path less traveled.

Hei jumped up in the knick of time, just before the mace had a chance to pulverize him with its spikes. The soldier controlling the mace was a relatively skinny guy, almost too skinny to look like he could do any harm, but when his powers were activated he grew strength. He picked up a cart full of hay and heaved it at the contractor. Hei jumped again, bringing himself close to his foe before trying to electrocute him. The blue electricity coursed through the suit, but died off somewhere in the end. Hei was flabbergasted, but just as quickly had a look of satisfaction as he stepped back.

"You really thought that Keigo wouldn't have equipped us with suits against you? Don't make me laugh!" The soldier laughed, bringing his mace behind him to throw at Hei in a few seconds. Hei walked up with a new resolve, confusing the contractor. "What are you…?" Hei drew his hand from inside of his coat and produced a short sword. The sword was originally on the soldier, but being too caught up in using the mace and his powers, Hei was able to steal it effortlessly. The metal sword was impaled into the man and he fell limp, cart of hay falling straight down on his body. Looking back again at the earthy glow of the flames, Hei figured it was time to put an end to all this madness.

Hei knocked lightly on the small abode before entering. Inside of the kitchen, he saw the princess and Jo and Hubert all sitting around the table, but they were talking about something he felt he really shouldn't intrude in.

"What do you mean ex-husband?"

"Princess Misaki, I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it was my husband! He was the one who organized the others to kill your mother, the queen!" Tears flowed from the old lady's eyes as she brought her hands to her face. She was truly distraught about what her husband did, but she felt that she was the only one.

"It was years ago princess, when he and I first met. We had gotten married, we were young and seemingly in love, but you know as they say: '_You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having them both at once._' Oh how those words meant nothing to me; I had become free when he was arrested, but I was never once at peace, at least until a couple of years ago. Goodwyn was not the same man I had married when he realized how hard life truly would be when you actually had to work. You see," said Mrs. Jo, looking around to make sure they were listening, "Goodwyn came from a family that did things for him. His mom and sisters would cook and all he and his father and brothers did was sit around and waiting for jobs to come to them. He moved to this village when they had all died, about the time we got married, and the moment things went wrong, he took it out on me.

The man hit me so many times, but I only got mad for that day. I never left because I did love him, and I understood exactly how hard the transition was to the kind of life I was used to living." She was staring straight at Goodwyn, hoping to be able to get through to him; at least if he asked for forgiveness things would be better right? "It was almost a year into that that we had our first baby. The bills were piling up some more and I was pretty sure he was becoming more violent; he was so mad that he couldn't pay for our son's things… Your mother…" Mrs. Jo had a smile on her face as she reminisced about the queen, "she was a saint, helping us all as much as she possibly could. Of course she didn't offer to pay for our things, she offered to help, not do it for us. Goodwyn just hated when she came to help you see, because he was the type of man to want to do things himself. One day, the queen had announced that she was with child and trust me, I was happy for her, we both were. I remember us talking about it.

Around the time you were born, your mother had stopped coming around to help us. Goodwyn knew why, in face he took it as a challenge to get himself to try to pay for our son… things didn't go as planned and our baby boy…" Fresh tears fell onto the tabletop. The kitchen was silent as they all waited to hear what was next. "Goodwyn and I both together couldn't get ahead. It was either the house, or the food, and because we had a baby, we had to give up the food. He suffered for three whole days," Mrs. Jo wept, "three whole days starving hungry because we were broke, and needed the house. Goodwyn had gotten so upset over the loss that I believe he took it out on the queen. He would talk about her day and night, saying if she had come around to help, or if she had given us just a bit more… I understood, it wasn't her fault. Who could've guessed that our son would've died? There are poor families all over this village and they made it; it was just unfortunate for us…"

"And that's where your wrong you witch."

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Jo.

"The villagers, they were just as bad as we were. They suffered just as much as we had, but they didn't tell; I had to find out. I went around every night, just wondering what I could do to get my son back, but it was impossible…"

"Of course it was impossible!" the old woman yelled as if it was obvious.

"The village men were mad about their children dying while the queen's daughter survived; not only survive mind you, but had extra clothes to wear, and accessories and jewelry, and food. We deserved that right too!"

"But Goodwyn! Had she not helped us when the king stayed in his throne room! Had she not provided food when she could? She wasn't our mother, she was our queen, and she was doing her job… maybe even more so than her job entailed…"

"But Jo, she had to go!" There was a crazed look in the man's eyes as Misaki listened to the words that escaped his mouth. "How fair would it be… so I organized a group of willing men to attack her when she stepped off the carriage."

"Goodwyn," Jo said with sadly, "did you ever think that you had taken a mother from a child?" The words cut deep into Goodwyn's skin, causing him to look at a teary-eyed Misaki. His eyes were filled with guilt as she wiped away her tears.

"Why are you still alive? I remember they said they caught the man who had killed mom, why are you still alive!" Misaki yelled.

"Because…" Goodwyn said quietly, "they wanted my exceptional skills. I watched everything, and they, Quentin and Keigo, wanted a way to keep track of things in the village without the king knowing it first." He looked to Misaki again. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I am going to tell you I am sorry. I realized too late that my actions were wrong, but not only for you, the whole village." Then he turned to Jo. "I know you want nothing to do with me, but please, I'm asking for _your _forgiveness… I truly did miss you and the son that could've been…"

"Why did you keep spying on me, and telling on me to the military?"

"When I saw the outsider, I was afraid for you, and I guess you can guess why I was spying…" he said with a rueful smile.

Mrs. Jo walked out of the kitchen, not saying a word to the estranged husband. Hei had moved out of the light so not to be seen, before he walked into the kitchen to see Misaki, still thinking about what she had just heard. "Li…" said Misaki. She had looked up, and became concerned about his appearance… (His clothes were torn and he was bleeding lightly) but the question of whether or not she should trust him came back into her mind. He saw her and stood where she was, as if expecting her to say something. "Li, I heard things…" She looked at him, straight in the eyes, willing him to say anything. "Are you really that man, the one called Hei, the contractor?" He looked away, not answering her question, but it didn't need to be put in words. She wasn't disappointed, in fact she was outright okay with it, she had wanted to get to know Hei in the first place, but got to know a nicer and sweeter side of him just as well. She continued to stare at Hei. "And my father?"

Hei walked up to the princess, standing close to her. "I didn't kill your father Misaki… it was Quentin and Keigo." She gasped lightly.

"Quentin and Keigo," she echoed.

"Yes."

"What are we going to do Li?" asked Misaki leaning into him as she talked.

"We have to fight them. They are destroying the village and I think by the time their done with it, there will be no longer be a village left for you or any body to rule."

-X-

A/N: Hubert was actually Goodwyn, who was actually Mrs. Jo's estranged ex-husband! Who woulda thought? Well not me! I thought it up on the fly, like with all other things I write, of course, and as long as I like an idea and it sounds good, I try to make it work.

The thing with their past was to get it so Goodwyn had a reason to kill the queen. Oh and last but not least, the peace quote said by Jo, was by Robert A Heinlein.


	6. Chapter 6

Black Knight Chapter 6

I still own nothing

-X-

A few of the villagers had gathered in front of the castle's yard. They had no work to do, mostly because the soldiers had destroyed everything, making it almost useless to start everything over. They thronged in front of the door, knocking heavily with their fists… it'd be a while before the doors would open to complain, but they weren't waiting for them. Soldiers were sent out to quell the raging mob; if it was possible to get them to calm down with violent action, they would, but the crowd was just too determined. One man yelled out, threatening the king.

"Hey," replied a soldier defensively, "do not threaten the king."

"King, how can that man be king? We had put up with him for far too long now…" The man quieted his voice when a man walked through the doors, wearing the clothes that were common to Naoyasu. "What…? That's not the king."

"Oh but I am. King Naoyasu died a while ago and made me the new king."

"But that can't be… you cannot just be made king? What about Princess Misaki, she'd be next in line."

"Why yes, but what if I was to marry the princess? I'd be prince, and then I become king since I was the next male in line right?" The villagers yelled out their opposition. "I don't care what you think you lowlife scum. Once I marry the princess, I will rule this kingdom. Guards, get these people from my sight."

The soldiers did as they were told, all of them highlighting blue and unleashing their powers on a disadvantaged crowd of non-powered people. The villagers scattered as fast as they could, trying to get away to tell more people of the news, but only some of them made it to tell the news. The others had fallen to the ground lifeless as their new soon-to-be king laughed a horrible and maniacal laugh.

Hei walked to the bound man. Goodwyn watched, with all hope lost to him. "We may need you, but if anything, we need Mrs. Jo to be safe. The soldiers are looking for her, and if I'm correct, Keigo will be searching for all three of us."

"I'll do what I need to. I want to repay Jo for what I've done."

"Li, are you sure we can trust him," Misaki asked still skeptical of the man.

"You may not believe me princess, but I truly never wanted to harm my wife. I want to make it up to her no matter what, and even if she doesn't want my help, I will make it my priority to protect her."

"I'll accept your protection Goodwyn," said Mrs. Jo walking into the kitchen. She walked up to her ex and put her palms on the table glaring at him. "But if you even think to betray me, I will never forgive you. Ever."

"I understand," said Goodwyn. "I won't lose your trust this time." Hei untied the man and relayed the instructions.

"I'm going to fight the soldiers, and you guys will go for the villagers. They'll trust you," he motioned to Jo, "more than anyone else."

"Li are you crazy? There is no way you can take all of them on at once. It's suicide." Hei walked back to the princess.

"Are you doubting my power?" he said with a smirk.

"No, it's not that… I just…"

"I know and I'll be alright." He turned to the others. "Now get going, and be discreet. They're already on their way."

Hei followed the three outside and watched as they started to walk away. Gohan came out from the woods and nuzzled against Misaki, neighing loudly. "I can't take you with me, Gohan, but I want you to go with Hei. Hei, take him."

"Misaki, I don't need…" The look on her face told him there was no arguing about it. "Take him and make sure the both of you come back alive okay."

Hei mounted the black steed and rode into the rising sun. The battalion was advancing toward him in a line like last time. Keigo was leading them on, yelling orders here and there, when he spotted the black knight. Hei stopped Gohan and challenged the commanding officer. The soldiers readied themselves for an attack, but Keigo had accepted the challenge. "No, leave him to me. The rest of you go and look for the princess. If he came from there, she and the old bat would be there too." The soldiers nodded and stepped away from Keigo, walking to Hei, but not laying a finger on him. "I guess we have to finish what we started eh?" Hei nodded and jumped off Gohan.

Mrs. Jo and Goodwyn stopped short after Misaki had heard the cries of the soldiers far off into the distance. They had gotten far, the three of them did, but the way they were going, they were all going to get caught by the soldiers. "Why did you stop princess?"

"You guys need to go ahead. Li said they were going to kill you if they find you, but they wouldn't dare kill me. I know my people; they wouldn't accept Quentin unless he was properly appointed."

"But princess," said Jo.

"Please, just go." She spoke to Goodwyn for the first time that morning. "Take care of her okay." Goodwyn bowed to the princess.

"I'm sorry for taking the mother of a good princess away from this world. I shall do as you say princess. I will protect her with my life."

"Alright. Now get going." Mrs. Jo was pushed gently into a running start by her husband and they ran off into the deeper part of the woods. Misaki stood, waiting for the soldiers. When she noticed they were close enough, she started to run to the side, making sure to leave tracks that two people had walked around here, and went in the direction they had come from.

The soldiers reached the place where Misaki had hid. One of them looked onto the dirt ground and found an imprint of a footprint. "Hey, she went over here." He looked around some more and found one other set of prints. "And here is the other one. They are definitely in this area here." The soldiers spread out in search of the two people, searching under everything, looking up in the trees. Misaki saw them, and playing it like she was trying to escape, she snuck up behind them and "accidently" stepped on a twig.

The sound resonated through the quiet wooded area. The men turned back. "There she is!" they yelled each of them trying to get her. The princess jumped over a branch, making it seem like she was legitimately running from the soldiers. They scrambled behind her, until she "fell" from an overgrown root. "I've got her." The soldier, who had taken her arm, brought her up forcefully. "Let's take her to Quentin."

"Where is the other woman, princess?" asked a soldier.

"I'll never tell you."

"We'll deal with that later. We have to get her to Quentin now."

Keigo jumped up and slammed his sword down onto the ground, getting a piece of Hei's trench coat with the blow. Hei moved back, grabbing his own sword, and attacking while Keigo was busy with picking his sword up. Both of his hands were on the hilt, and Hei saw the opening, the right side of his body. The short sword came to Keigo's right side, hitting armor, but still going through quite a bit. Hei jumped away again as the sword came back up in the sir.

"I see you found out." Keigo grabbed his armor and let loose electricity on himself. "In order to not kill myself every time I use my power, I have to give up some protection. As you can see, this armor is made of some very strong rubber." Keigo fingered the small cut and smiled. "If you can get another it, I'm guessing you can kill me, but I don't think that'll happen anytime soon." He ran forward once again, sword in one hand this time, other hand free, trying to grab the man closer. Hei dodged the sword as it swung violently in the air, ducking and weaving away from Keigo.

Hei and Keigo were fighting in the vicinity of a farm house. Unexpectedly, Keigo threw his sword forward, making Hei try to avoid it, but the moment he tried to step out of the way, Keigo grabbed him. Yellow electricity poured out of his hands into Hei's body, and then, to top it all off, he was thrown into the house. The weak structure broke under his weight. It reminded him of anther time, almost like it was déjà vu. He pushed himself up, body rigid from the attack. Keigo walked up slowly, stopping to pick up his sword. "You'll never be able to beat me Li. So you might as well just give up." His electricity sparked on his body and ran through his sword, enhancing it.

Gohan, who was grazing not far off, sensed something was wrong in the air. He held his head up high, looking in the direction of the man that Misaki had led him too. Hei was on the ground, and another man was walking towards him with all the attention of hurting him, so Gohan knew. He neighed, and trampled the ground violently. He knew that Misaki wouldn't want him to die. Gohan ran as fast as he had, that night Misaki had run, and went straight to the man standing over Misaki's friend.

Keigo brought the sword up, the electricity ready to kill, when he heard behind him a thundering sound. The sound came so quick and abruptly that he had to turn around and defend against it. The horse had raised its leg against the enemy, bringing it down in fury to trample him. The tip of his hoof caught onto the man, tearing into his armor even more. Keigo was brought to the ground, electricity diminishing as it coursed through the ground. Gohan was still trampling him, when Hei got up and reached for the long sword. He pulled Gohan back and looked at Keigo.

Surprisingly the rubber armor was durable than he would've guessed. The bulk of the damage was taken by the rubber, and Keigo was relatively unharmed, sore, but unharmed. Hei outlined blue as Keigo started to plead for his life.

"Please…" He got up trying to reach Hei, but Hei held the sword ever closer the armor-less part of his body. "I'll see what I can do… you know, tell Quentin to find a place for you. I'll do anything! Please," he yelled as the blade came closer to him, "don't kill me!" Hei plunged the weapon into the man, his blue electricity finishing him off in seconds.

"Good job Gohan," he said to the horse as he mounted him. "It's time to finish this."

Goodwyn walked the path a little faster than Jo did; she had to run to catch up with him. The man was talking as he rushed forward. "We should help her…"

"What do you mean? Princess Misaki?"

"Yes," nodded Goodwyn, "we need to band together as a village. We can do it, we have the numbers."

"But Goodwyn, they have powers."

"I promise you Jo," he looked at her emphasizing his plea, "this'll work as long as we have their cooperation." His voice had sounded so sincere, that she was tempted to believe him, and she was brought back to the times when things used to be good between them. Mrs. Jo followed after Goodwyn as he located the villagers hiding among the brush. He went turned to Mrs. Jo, telling her to talk to them. "They trust you Jo. They will listen to you; why would you lie to them?"

Mrs. Jo knew he was right. They might've not known who Hubert really was, but they still didn't like him, and they were more likely to take orders from an incapable king than listen to an estranged old man. She walked up to the families, taking care to be seen by them all. The men of the families came out in front of their wives, or sisters, glaring at Goodwyn, who walked behind Mrs. Jo. "You must listen to me," started Mrs. Jo. "Our princess has gone back to the castle to save us." The men looked at her; the women, they started to come closer.

"Princess Misaki? She went back to save us?" asked a woman.

"Yes," spoke Jo again, "King Naoyasu has died, as I know some of you have heard, and Quentin, the advisor…" Someone interrupted her.

"The advisor? I've never like that man for some reason."

"Me too," chimed in a younger woman holding two kids close to her. "I always got a bad vibe from him."

"And the princess has to marry that man?"

"Yes," put in Goodwyn. He earned a suspicious glare from the men before Mrs. Jo continued.

"She doesn't want to marry that man. She already has a man whom she loves very much. Quentin will only destroy us, and if he and the soldiers continue to take over this kingdom, we will never have the peace we had when the queen was alive."

"What do you want us to do about it? The soldiers will kill us in a heartbeat," said a man.

"You have to try, don't you? Do you want your children to grow up in fear?" Goodwyn stepped up to Mrs. Jo, putting a hand on her shoulders, talking mostly to her it seemed. "Your children should be able to be free and live without the fear that their parents are going to die before they get back home. If we let these men continue doing these horrible things, then that fear will become a reality."

"I'm sorry," said a man shaking his head, "but I will not fight. I have a family."

"That's why you should fight!" said Goodwyn, but the man quieted him.

"It's too dangerous."

"No." The rest of the family watched as the man's wife moved up to Goodwyn and Mrs. Jo. "I will fight. They are right you guys. I remember the queen trying to do her best for us, and we just let Quentin come over and do whatever he wants? I do want my children to have a happy village to live in. And plus," she said to her husband and everybody else, "I like Princess Misaki; I think she deserves to be happy too." Cheers went around to the woman's speech and they looked at Jo and Goodwyn. "I'm guessing those of us who want to fight will. What should we do?"

-X-

A/N: Sorry to all those who found the fight rushed… I tried to think what else I could've added, but I was just so at a loss, I kept it at that. -_- And I hate when people, the bad guys, start begging for their lives when they're losing! It irks me to no end… that's why it was in this story… just saying.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer… I own nothing…

Black Knight final chapter… sad I know…

-X-

Goodwyn stood up, waiting impatiently for Misaki to finish getting ready. The people were already informed of the abrupt marriage, and though a good lot of them had sent in complaints about it, Quentin did nothing. He wanted the formalities to be over as soon as possible; the faster he got to the alter, the faster he could start making new rules. One of the nursemaids emerged from upstairs, bringing news that they were ready to begin the ceremony. Quentin smiled, looking around for his right hand man Keigo, before walking outside to the pope.

Misaki stood in the mirror admiring the beautiful white gown she was wearing. The corset was laced with beautiful pearls and the sequins that went down to the bottom of the dress were intricately sewn; she knew the dress was gorgeous, but she hated wearing dresses, so it only added to her peeves for this day. The nursemaid that had gone downstairs returned and smiled to the princess a sorrowful smile.

"I know, I feel sorry for myself too." They shared a laugh, but it was short-lived as she was walked to the front of the castle doors. The doors were opened, and she saw the villagers (all of them with a mix of emotions) rise to acknowledge her walking down the aisle.

Quentin's eyes were filling with lust each step Misaki took closer to him. His mouth curved into a distasteful smile, and Misaki noticed it. It seems the pope did to; he grimaced a little before he started reading the section from the bible. "Dearly beloved…" The words droned out of both of the wedder's ears as they thought about the next step. Quentin: what to do with all this power?

Misaki: how do I stop him from becoming king?

Goodwyn led the small group of villagers out of the wooded area and into the front of the path to the village. "Remember, from here on out, you have to fight." There were mostly men among the groups, but those women who had no children, were fighting for their freedom too. "The soldiers will be ready to kill, but this is for us, for Princess Misaki!" he roared. They cheered after him, all of them going into their separate groups.

Hei stopped the speeding stallion instantly when he saw the group gathered in front of the castle's entrance. He was sure it was because of the marriage. He got off and led Gohan by hand into the crowd.

The contractor stood out immensely in the throng gathered there, in the sense that his clothes singled him out to any eyes watching the crowd. Soldiers had already caught on, and they didn't care that civilians were in the way; they went straight after Hei, not caring who or what they hit. Hei jumped back onto the horse and started to run through the crowd. He yelled loudly, getting the people's attention to move when he came by. The soldiers still bombarded from the front, pushing people here and there, trying get an open view of the man.

On top of Gohan, Hei could see that he had a long ways to go before he reached Misaki. It wouldn't matter how much noise he made, it would only matter that he stopped them. He whipped the reins harder on Gohan and told him to hurry. A few of the soldiers in their rubber armor had reached him, and Gohan did quick work, trampling them just as fast as they came up to him. He looked up again just as the rings were getting slipped on their fingers. "Come on Gohan!"

"Stop them, they're just villagers!" yelled the man as he fell into the small haystack behind him. The farmer laughed and high fived his son at a job well done before the both of them turned their pitchforks to the remaining soldiers. On another part of the village, closer to the castle, the women were having a harder time keeping up. The soldiers didn't go easy on them, not that they were expecting it, but it was hard to get through the armor. "Why? What has Quentin done for you? Your real king was Naoyasu, and you know deep down he wouldn't have wanted the slaughter of his village by the hands of his own soldiers…" The soldier didn't wait for her to finish before he slashed off her head.

"Does anyone else have anything to say?" Behind him a soldier looked ready to say something but didn't. "Anybody?" A woman stepped up, trying hard not to look at her friend.

"Yes," she said trying to hold back her fear, "what you are doing is wrong." The soldier who had killed her friend pushed her to the ground, stepping on her gut.

"What can you do about it? Our new king will allow us to do whatever the hell we want to do, and I believe that I like it better that way!" He applied more pressure to his foot, squeezing her insides, causing her immense pain. The women watched in horror as their friend got stepped on, shaking in a cluster because they could do nothing. The man behind the soldier, the one who had looked like he wanted to say something, stepped up, his hands clenched by his sides. The women watched with unrevealing eyes as he unsheathed his sword and put it to the back off the man's neck. "What do you think you're doing," he said turning his head slightly back to look at the man.

"They're right."

"What did you say?" he replied with a bit of inflection in his voice.

"I said they are right, and get your foot off of her before I kill you." There were more soldiers behind them, watching, but not moving, still unable to decide who was right. "We shouldn't kill them like they were nothing… we were villagers once to, and I wouldn't want the soldiers to come and kill my family just because the king said so."

"So you dare defy the king…"

"I'm not defying the king!" the man yelled, "he's dead, and I will not approve of what I don't believe in."

"Where was all this hours ago huh?" The man stepped on the woman once more, before he turned to what used to be his brother in arms, sword still at his neck.

"Killing men for a coup I can do, but women, even if they try to fight… I won't stand here and let you kill these women.

"Make me…" but like the one he just killed, the man's head was cut clean off before he had a chance to finish his words.

"Thank you," the woman said to the man. He nodded before turning, re-sheathing his sword, and talking to those who hadn't made there minds known about the situation they were in.

"You guys know where we came from. Just because we have powers does not put us on a higher step than the regular villagers. We have to follow rules to, but when they are immoral, we shouldn't have to do it. I know I'm not the only one here who believes that what we're doing is wrong… so let's go fight, let's go tell our "king" that we won't do this senseless killing anymore."

Misaki flinched as the words "you may kiss the bride" flew out of the pope's mouth. The greedy smile that Quentin had on had caused her to step back when he stepped forward to kiss her. When that wet and very sloppy kiss had finished, he looked to his new people. Their union was complete and it was seen legally and formally by the pope and the people of the village; no one would be able to deny him now. The laugh that emanated from him had frightened the best of the villagers and they waited for his speech.

Quentin opened his mouth to speak when from the crowd he saw Hei riding a black horse with a flowing white mane. Misaki saw him too, glowing bright as she got as close as she could without getting into the crowd. Hei and Gohan both jumped onto the carpet, Misaki running to her knight. "I'm glad the both of you are okay," she said petting Gohan and looking Hei in the eyes. Hei was busy watching the new king, and the king was watching him as well.

"It's over Quentin," said a voice. From the crowd again, stepped up Goodwyn.

"What can you possibly mean Hubert?" he asked eyeing him to stop. Goodwyn smiled and looked to the crowd. Soldiers had found their way into the crowd dispersed within the bodies of the mass. The crowd stood transfixed by the show as if it were truly just a show and not real life. "This king has betrayed you people." Small gasps were heard, others started chatting amongst themselves. "For years now he had been the real mastermind behind the king's neglect." He waited for it to sink in. "It was he who told the king what to do, and how to do it. I don't justify this for all the king's mistakes, because he could have done better, but King Naoyasu was blinded by the loss of his wife and the fear of losing his daughter. I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" a voice from the crowd asked anybody willing to answer.

"For killing the only person capable of giving us a decent living."

Few eyes went wide as they understood. "He killed the Queen!" The shouts went around and the villagers got angry, ignoring the fact that Goodwyn had just revealed to the people that Quentin was behind all the wrongdoings in the kingdom. Quentin watched as the old man tried to speak again, but before Goodwyn was able to speak, Quentin came up from behind and smacked him in the head, hard.

"Goodwyn!" cried Mrs. Jo who ran to him. Goodwyn lay on the floor in his ex-wife's hands.

"I'm sorry… I truly am, to the both of you."

"I know Goodwyn, she forgives you."

"But what about you?" he said, voice becoming a whisper.

"I…"

"Jo…" His voice thinned out into the wind.

"I'm sorry Goodwyn," cried Jo, "I'm sorry."

"He speaks lies. When has he ever spoken the truth? We must put him in the dungeon." Two soldiers stepped up to the dead man…

"No, we won't accept that." The woman who had been saved by the soldier stepped up, the rest of the soldiers and the group of women following her. "You are no better than him anyways King." The look on Quentin's face told his soldiers all they needed to hear. Almost twenty soldiers ran forward into the crowd, wielding their sword. The rebels and the soldier met halfway on the carpet, brawling within moments.

Queen Misaki looked around at the chaos on the carpet. Faces were getting punched in, swords being taken out to kill brethren in arms, villagers turning their backs on one another; this was the sort of thing she had always wanted to avoid. Her people, she wanted them to live happy and care-free lives… what she got was a battle, possibly to the death.

Quentin saw a sword without an owner and picked it up, turning to face Hei. Hei was already prepared to kill the new king; he had his dagger in his hand just waiting for Quentin to make the first move. Misaki closed her eyes from the madness, the screams, the cursing drowning out into nothingness as she decided what she had to do next.

Everything was the same when she opened her eyes. Hei was still beside to her, still challenging Quentin to come over to him. Quentin accepted the challenge and walked to Hei in slow strides, making it through the crowded path as if they had stepped aside just for him. He stopped in front of the black knight and sneered at him, saying nothing.

They stood at a silent stand-off neither of them saying or doing anything until Hei, glowing blue, lifted a hand toward Quentin's face. Misaki tugged at his shirt and pulled his hand back from the man's face. "No," she said shaking her head. He wasn't entirely sure what she had planned to do, but he complied nonetheless. He brought his hands to his sides; when she pulled the dagger from his hands, she spoke to her husband.

"Stop it. Call them off." The dagger was held in place. She wasn't at all perturbed by the long sword he still carried. "I want them to stop fighting!" The fighting had subsided at the sound of the Queen's shrill voice. All movement ceased as they looked watched her.

"What are you going to do? I'm the king…"

Misaki shook her head. "No, you're not a king; you're just a selfish power hungry advisor. I'm the Queen now, and you know what, I'm taking back my position as the head of my family. I went with the marriage because I thought that was what I was supposed to do, but I have to be a queen and it hasn't even been one day of your reign that my village is already in shambles." She turned to her people. "Stop all this fighting right now, or else." Never before had they seen the queen so mad; the anger in her voice made everyone, rebels and soldiers alike, drop their weapons and listen to what she had to say.

Quentin was outraged. How can they listen to the queen instead of the king? "What do you think you are doing? I'm the king… you listen to me!"

The crowd stayed in their spot, not moving an inch. "Don't you see? They want me to be the Queen, and for me to choose who I rightfully choose." She looked at them and they cheered their approval. "See?"

"I will not stand for this!" The sword went forward in a flash. Hei who had been watching Quentin with a keen eye moved to stop him, but he was already too late. Misaki held out the dagger in front of the sword. Her hand went forward to Quentin's face, punching his right cheek hard.

"Guards, take him to the dungeon now, and all the others who followed under his order when my father was still king…"

The castle front was finally emptied as the villagers all went back to their homes, to repair what damage was done and to find any remaining soldiers that may have run when Quentin was arrested. Misaki sat on her bed, looking out the window aimlessly.

"I guess I'm going to leave now," said Mrs. Jo still saddened by the loss. She walked to give Misaki and Hei hugs.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked a concerned Misaki.

"I need to get back home to make sure that no one else needs any saving, but I'll be alright." Misaki smiled as the door closed behind the woman.

"Finally… the village is back. I hope I can do as much as my mom did."

"Let's hope that you can do better." Hei stood up straight after leaning on the wall and walked to the window. He looked back at the Queen; she seemed troubled. "You have something you need to say?"

"Well…" she started, "Do you want to rule with me?" She had a big blush on her face, avoiding looking at him at all cost. She didn't see Hei walk over to her and pull her head up to face him.

"I don't do that… ruling over people." He placed a final kiss on her lips before jumping out the window. Misaki ran up after him, but just like the first time, he was already gone… yet unlike last time, she knew she'd see him again.

-X-

A/N: Finished with this story! I can't believe it. I'm sensing that, it happens with a bunch of my stories, as I get closer to the end, the style changes and whatnot, at least to me, and I felt it big time in this chapter, somewhere towards the end. Anyways, there will probably be a sequel so yeah thanks for reading… BYE.


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